Third Test

Lara living on borrowed time

As the tropical moon rose over Kensington Oval about 50 England supporters who would not give over stood outside the dressing rooms calling for all the players, even the forgotten ones: "Batty, Batty, give us a wave." But in cricket the focus is always on the captain. And Michael Vaughan, sitting on the steps sending text messages (full of smileys, one trusts) was regularly obliged to break off and do some waving.

The captain of West Indies, meanwhile, slipped quietly away into the night to face a week that will include a great deal of sombre reflection. Six years ago, when England were mashed in Antigua, Mike Atherton resigned the captaincy even while Lara was parading around the ground with the Wisden Trophy.

This series is due to end there on Wednesday week, which, on current form, means it will probably come to a head late on Monday. The reversal may be complete. Lara could be gone even before Vaughan completes the lap of honour.

He hinted as much on Saturday night. Asked if he planned to resign the captaincy, he said only: "We have still got a Test match to go. The assessment time will come." If he does not go voluntarily, the pressure for change may be overwhelming anyway.

There is clearly a huge amount wrong with West Indies cricket that is nothing to do with Brian Lara, its last remaining great player. Some of it must be structural, the inevitable result of years of dominance when world-beaters flowed into Caribbean cricket in such numbers that administrators never had to think about boring subjects like infrastructure. Empires generally decay from the bottom up.

Some of the trouble must be inside the team set-up itself, on which subject outsiders inevitably rely on rumour and speculation. But there is also Lara himself. And his leadership in this match was so palpably flawed it is possible to argue he lost the match even more certainly than Andrew Flintoff, Graham Thorpe and Matthew Hoggard won it.

On Friday England were in deep trouble on a pitch where the batsmen were never comfortable. West Indies could and should have bowled England out for something close to 150, which would have totally changed the situation on Saturday, psychologically and mathematically.

Every captain of every village team, every under-11s team, every half-cut pub team, knows that the essence of fielding captaincy is, once you have your hands round the batting team's windpipe, you do not let go. At the crucial moment, just after lunch, Lara released the pressure by bowling his part-time off-spinner Chris Gayle for 11 overs, during which time England inched away from 73 for four and 90 for five to 146 for six. In a low-scoring match it was crucial.

He had four fast bowlers raring to go. It was a decision so bizarre that one assumed there must be something of which we were unaware, some piece of arcana concerning the over-rate regulations, maybe. Not so. Asked to explain the decision, Lara grew petulant: "Why don't you ask Michael Vaughan why he bowled Ashley Giles? Gayle might not have gotten any wickets but he did a job just like Giles did."

No, he did not. Vaughan bowled Giles when the West Indies batsmen were getting on top of the quicks and he needed to switch the tempo. There is no legitimate comparison. This was merely one example. It is as though Lara fails to understand the difference between originality and perversity.

For West Indies cricket this is yet another horrendous week. The causes of it will be dissected minutely in every bar on every island, and on every radio chat show. The stars of past generations will be wielding daggers even more vigorously than everyone else, as many feel their wisdom has been neglected by current administrators. Understatement will not be the order of the day.

As Garth Wattley of the Trinidad Express put it yesterday: "Ancient Babylon fell more swiftly to Cyrus the Persian but the fall from grace has been far more painful for the Caribbean team."

West Indies' flaws will not detract from a week of mellow satisfaction of a depth and richness no England touring team has known perhaps since Len Hutton came back with the Ashes 49 years ago. There have been intermittent successes in the years since then, of course. But this one really does appear to be part of a context in which the team are getting their act together in terms of personnel and organisation.

It will have knock-on effects throughout the English game, as it struggles with multiple crises on other fronts. Among the 8,000 or so English sup porters present on Saturday was Sir Chris Gent, founding father of Vodafone, very pleased indeed with his sometimes fraught sponsorship of the England team. "It makes a big difference to us," he said. "Part of the deal is a performance bonus and we'll be very pleased to pay it."

Man for man, there is not much between the teams. Vaughan said as much yesterday: "I think the West Indies have a really talented bunch of players. The only difference between the sides is in tight situations." England have become a side capable of getting the best out of tight situations. This is a triumph of organisation, coaching, selection, attitude and leadership - on the field and off it.

Vaughan was far too polite to say so but he is unlikely ever to meet another side quite so ineptly led as Lara's West Indies.

Chances are that includes the West Indian team due to tour England barely two months from now. They cannot go on like this.

England's Caribbean catastrophes since 1968

1974

A miserable run of home form for West Indies came to an end but a purple patch from Dennis Amiss - including 262 in Jamaica - helped England keep the series level at 1-1. The 5th Test was Garry Sobers 93rd and last.

1981

Ian Botham's miserable time as captain continued with a 2-0 series defeat overshadowed by the Jackman Affair and the death of Ken Barrington, England's coach, from a heart attack in Barbados.

1986

Optional nets, Miss Barbados, Patrick Patterson: this was David Gower's nadir as captain and ended in 5-0 blackwash. To make things worse, on the series' penultimate day Viv Richards made the fastest ever 100, off 56 balls.

1990

A much mocked squad selected to "fight fire with fire"did surprisingly well, winning the first Test and deprived by rain in the third. By then Graham Gooch and Angus Fraser were injured and normal service resumed, 2-1 defeat.

1994

Brian Lara made 375; Curtly Ambrose took six for 24; England were all out for 46 but did manage one eccentric win, in Barbados, thanks to two tons from Alec Stewart and eight wickets for Fraser. 3-1.

1998

Another 3-1 defeat, spiced up when the Sabina Park Test was called off after 56 minutes. Mark Ramprakash was thought to have come of age at last, with 154, but the series still ended with Mike Atherton's resignation.

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